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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: date · scale · stand · tube · chest · toast · band · mouse

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. chest — of your body
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — the underground
  5. band — a ring
  6. date — the fruit
  7. stand — to bear
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. scale — size or range
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. chest — a box
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. toast — bread
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. scale — in music
  19. band — a music group
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. tube — a container
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. chest — of your body
  24. date — on the calendar

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com